Paper-folding machine



Feb. 21, 1928.

J. H. ADAMS PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 27. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. H. ADAMS PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Feb. 21, 1928.

, Filed Sept. 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet. 2 I

Job]? EJ40 012);

Jfl

J. H. ADAMS PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Feb. 21, 1928.

Filed Sept. 27. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 21, 1928.

J. H. ADAMS PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet. 4

@ R b A 4 m\ T g Y QB W Z q ii 1 1 k\ QN- M 9 Feb. 21, 1928. 1,659,585

J. H. ADAMS PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2'7, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 21, 1928. i 1 559 535 UNITED STATES PA TENT; OFFICE.

JDHNIL nnm oznmnmoms,

run-ronnme mcmi 7 Application mee Sbptemben :7, 1m. semi- Io. imam My present inventionrelatestopaper f'olrllit will? appeal! when:v foldedlbngitndinall y ingtmachines, but is especially adnptedrfon" hymns-machine, andhavingw indicatedthere usein: folding lettens,; invoices; statements, ongby, meansiofbroken lines, whelet he sheet advertisinrr IDflttGUflIld trllel-ikeshapedfteibw will? be fnldeditmnsmerselyby the-machine;

placed Within envelopes. 3 'llh-e. numeral 116" indicates the skeleton 60 To. the above end; eneralliy statecli the! fname ofith'e pa e'n folding 'maehine, on the inventionconsists of the novel devices anclj' top" and fonwar portion at whichis a flat combinations of devices heneinmfiter de hfllfimnt'fll fl 7 pp ng Stack scribed and clefinedi in the elaimsi of letter sheets or similar sheets a: tohefold Said invention hasifol' its: object to prodi Front and near co opemtingcombined my vitle an extremely" simple, noiseless and f fl lihg'r and: lvngitudinal folding rollers 18 highly" eflicient machine that is positiive in and 19, nespectiwely,: extendtransWersely 0ft its action and accurate asto the work: done themmz e e d h v th in hafts j olll'll albd" whileetitlie same time it has e capacity fbnim the. sideiliars ofrtiie fi'nme 1:6"; The fnont rapidly turning out ork. I I'Ollfll! is; heated will the mall 0ft 70* In the accompanying"drawings, which i1- table 17; with. its nppen snlzftlceisubstaintiallyi lustiate the: invention, like characters indi i111 6 18119051.! that) t ofilflaidt? table: catelike parts throughout the several viewsi r ar. 120 1131 19* HES-I a1 iameterslightly less Referring to the drawings: thmnthatof theifnont: rollen 18iandrits1 axis 2 Fig; 1 ise plan view of the paper folrlingg fl k g y that! (If 503d 7G machine; 1"0l18II1 Bi Fig. 2 is a view principally in night side i m: pain-of lntemlly'spacedihengen hars120i elevation with some parts'broken away and" a v efthem upper'ends Ifigidly'securedi flo the other pgrtggegtioned; tOPi-CIOSB bfll'JOfl fmme: 16; The dniven Fi 3 i f e ta i ith. mg shaft 21 of a relatively small roller 22 is: my parts sectioned 'on theline of Fig; 2;. wurnalbtlun t'heeliangervhm'sfimatthedower mien eiilzti' eclscale, Withthesheet showmin endipontmns thereufiand haskeyed to one of a diff t iti b m v f b k t 1tsends; outward: oh the respectiite hanger li bar 20, a large wheel 281 This wheel-23 30- Fig. isa fregmentanyview pnincipally, is-zdnivenifnomnmeleetricmetov 24, mounted w v in cen'trei vertical section taken: on the line mmpla fermi nithmfreme 18, by a mund 4--4g oflii 1, (man enlarged settle; b elt-2ithat nunsfoyensandt wheeliendienelaw- Fig, 5' i5 1 detail: iew pnncipally: in, ma. timely wheele 2610K therammature *Shflfi? ti m i on the 1 5' 5 f 1*, of. sa d motor; Bothi wheels 23 andw 26ihavet enlarged scale; 'gmovedi pemphenies tnz mneive theiheltt 251 Fig; 6a is a vigw com-espnndin b Fig, 5i BIId'IESS'; b fllll 275.,i Whll]l1: alSut 88-" with the exception that the maei'ine is: ad- 818% he muerl9 1m Its fieldingactiemiune justcd for a, different foldingmadame 0W3! Stildilflllfll! 19 ancl theadniveninqllen 22 Fig. 7 is a view partly: in! elevatio d; andtlindentlleifront mllenlfl fnndriving the 40 partly in; transverse vertical section taken 1 1311 b lt: 27 sidmven By the mlIeI-QQ on the-line'Z-J of Fig. 6'; V v in; thextlneetion of" the amnowmarkedtheme Fig.8 is a plain viewmfthefoldin plate: 0n11n:E 1gt4nain dlniturni dmwestherollerstla and a sheet? folded thereon, remove fi'om M H? hfl 'fl fl flff heiilrmwsimnrked th a hin i 1 i thereoniln thesnmeefigure; Said belt't2'fi is 45 Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, are detailj viewer hflldhybherollem I8.-19 -22 fsoith ati it isup- 10o principally-in transverse-vertical secbionnen w vdlyr 311111 realwm'dly" 1ncl1ned from the the lines 9-9; 10-10', 11'1=1 andl 127-42 roller"22ie.-ndfthe mller'lfiiheldsthe upper ofFig. 3y J section: of? said. beln'sothatit? travels; sub- Fi 13 i a fragmentary dgt fl stantihzlly pamllel tUIthG'lOWEITSGQtlOII there Cit 5 pv 'ngi ally front endtglevatiQn with=sgme 0f. ThWWldth Of theismonsidemhly pants sectioned on the line 1313 ofi'Fi'g than-amt offthe 22 a d Fig; 14 is it detail" View grinci ally, in travels Wendie in e mediate-portions theretnclinel section taken on the irregular of? Byrefrence to Figs. tend??- it will be liiwei14--14 ofFig: I2; and t noted tliet the roller 19 lias' a peripheral 55 Fig: 15 is a perspective view ofa sheet as groove28 inwllicli tliebelt 27 travels, and 1wthe rear end of which is supported from the side bars of the frame 16 by means of a pair of horizontal arms 31 on the longitudinal edges of said deck. To lessen the friction between the belt 27 and deck 29 there are provided transverse anti-friction rollers 32 ournaled in bearing members 33 on the underside of said deck and rotate. in longitudinal- 1y spaced grooves 34 in the deck 29 with theirupper faces arranged for engagement with the back of the belt 27 as it travels on said deck.

(lo-operating with the roller 18 is a pressure roller 35, having a relatively small diameter, that. extends parallel to the roller 18 and rests directly on the top thereof for cooperation therewith for feeding the sheets 00 edgewise from the table 17. This pressure roller 35 has a. shaft 36 journaled in open seats 37 in upstanding bearings 38 on the side members of the frame 16 with freedom to permit said roll-er. 35 to float radially in respect to the roller 18. The roller 19 has its shaft journaled in loose bearings 39 mounted in elongated seats in the side members of the frame16 and supported on coiled springs 40 that act as tighteners for the belt 27.

Extending parallel with the roller 22 and resting on the belt 27, where it passes over the roller 22, is a creasing roller 41 journaled in the hanger bars 20.

A long tongue-like platen or transverse folding plate 42 overlies the upper-section of the belt 27 on the deck 29 .and extends longitudinally thereof substantially the full distance between the rollers 18 and 22. The upper end, of the folding plate 42 is rigidly secured to the under side of a transverse bar 43, the ends. of which are rigidly secured to the side bars of the frame 16. This end of the folding plate 42 is spaced slightly above the belt 27 to permit one of the sheets w, when longitudinally folded by the rollers 18 and 19, to pass thereunder on the belt 27 The folding plate 42 is in the form of a; flat steel bar that is yieldingly pressed onto the -belt 27 by a flat spring 44 that bears longitudinally on the intermediate portion of said plate and has its upper end portion bent upward and anchored to the top of the frame 16. It is highly important to notethat the width of the folding plate 42 is slightly tapered from its free end rearward, substantially two-thirds of its full length. For guiding the lower section of the belt 27 there is secured to the deck 29 a pair of depending guide plates 45 between which the belt runs.

. of different widths.

A pair of long flat plates 46 are attached to the tops of a pair of parallel rails 47 mounted in rabbeted seats 48 in the top longitudinal edge portions of the deck 29,

andeach of said rails is detachably secured to said deck by a single upstanding screw a thumb nut 50. The rabbeted seats 48 securely hold the parallel rails 47 against angular movement. These plates 46 extend parallel to the deck 29 and their inner longitudinal edge portions extend inward. from the rails 47 and afford. folding flanges 51 spaced above the l elt 27. It will be noted by reference to Fig. 12 that the rails 47 are closely positioned to the longitudinal edges of the belt 27 and guide the same. The rear ends of the plates 46 are downwardly and rearwardly inclined to a point below the belt 27 and have cam-acting lifting inner edges 52 that'are connected to the adjacent ends of the folding flanges 51 by cam-acting folding edges 53.

Mounted on the forward end portions of the tops of the plates 46 is a pair of flat plates 54 and 55 that overlie the belt 27. These plates 54 and 55 have at their rear endsupwardly curved folding edges 56 and 57, respectively, that extend transversely and obliquely over the belt 27 The folding edge 56 extends inward from the outer longitudinal edge of the respective plate 46 and at an angle of substantially forty-five degrecs and terminates substantially midway between the longitudinal edges of the belt 27. The folding edge 57 extends inward from the outer longitudinal edge of the respective plate 46 and at an angle substan-' tially sixty degrees. Said folding edge 57 is spaced materially forward from the inner end of the folding edge 56 and extends nearly across the belt 27 Forward of the folding edge 57 the plates 54 and 55 extend across the belt 27 and completely cover the same.

For holding a stack ofsheets a: longitudinally on the table 17 in proper position to be fed by the rollers 18 and 35 to the belt 27 and roller 19, there is mounted on said table a pair of laterally spaced upstanding side plates 58 having on their lower edges outwardly extending flanges 59 that rest directly on said table and are detachably and adjustably secured thereto by thumb screws 60. These thumb screws 60 extend through transverse slots 61 in the flanges 59 and have screw-threaded engagement with the table 17. The slots 61 permit lateral adjustment of the side plates 58 toward. or

from each other to bold therebetween sheets The stack of sheets a:

on the table 17 between the side plates 58 V are fed by hand,'one at a time, from the top of the stack edgewise between the rollers edge of the.

. of the holder; 66. On fingers 67 is a knob 73 by which and35... the sakaof conwen-ienoethe heet f d. t he ro lers-In and 51Wi 1 e he e naft r rred to as theop of the sheet. Du ng he s dng'movem nt o a sheet. at etw en he o1 rs-L andj 5 to he re r. t e ma h ne h on p rt nofi id heet. is moved onto a flat; horizontal bed plate; 62 detachably secured to the upper edges of the s de memb s of h fra 1. nd. h topsof a pair of horizonta-l crossbars63 detachably secured to. said side members. Formed with the upper edge of the bed plate 62'is a forwardly curved apron 64, the free end of which extends; between the rollers 18 and 19. At thelongitudinal edges of'the apron 64; the bed plate 62 is providedwith' rail-like extensions. 65 secured; to theupper edges. of the side bars; of the frame 16, a i Mounted over the bed: plate 62 is a U- shaped holder 66 having formed with its. transverse portion a pluralityof edgewise spaced fingers 67 the free ends of: which ex.- tend obliquely upward, The side members of the holder 66 are downwardly offset to slidably rest on the-bed plate 62and its ex.- tension 65 and support the transverse member ofsaidholder and its finger 67 V spaced above said bed plate. Rigidly secured to the rear end of thfl transverse bar of; the holder;

66 is a depending collar; 68 that extends through a longitudinal slot 69 in. the bed plate 62 and is slidablly. mounted on. a horizontal guide rod 70, t ends of which. are mounted on the holder 66, Obviously; this collar 68 and guide rod 70 secure the holder 66 for straight line sliding] movement longitudinally of the machine. The collar 68 is provided with a set screw 71,. fonsecuring the same to the rod 70 with the holder 66 set in different positions, y a

A depending stop flange; 72 is formed; with the rear edge of the transverse member top; of one of the the holder may be moved. The position of the stop flange 72, in respect tothe rollers-1.8 and 35 determines the position of a; longitudina fold to be made in a sheet. Whena sheet w is to be fed edgewisefromthe table 17 by the rollers. 18 and 35., the same isdirected onto the bed1plate62 by the apronfii and the fingers. 67. The movementof the sheet a: on the bed. plate 62 is. limitedby the stop flange 72 and when the topof a sheet engages this stop the continuedlmovement ofy the lower portlon of saidsheet bythe rollers 18 and 35 causes, the same to; be folded between the rollers 18 and 19; andbelt 27 and be directed into Cont ct therewith.

Obviously, the apron 64 and finger-67 prevent the sheet a: from folding except between the rollers 18 and 19 When the intermediate portion of the sheet w cau ht; by

the rollers 18 and 19'and the belt 2 they of mountingthe belt. 27in the on said sheet.

of the folding lines 3/ thetlaps of; said sheet folded thereby. is being moved by longitudinal taper of the folding feed. said sheets: a reverse direction from.

that ot the rollers 18 and 35. Thejpurpose groove 28in bring the face of thetbelt 27 flush With. the. peripheral edge. portions of the roller 19 so that said belt and edge ortions ofSaid-roller contact with the roll er 18, and when the sheet 00 passes between.

the roller 19 is to.

the belt 27-roller 191and theroller 18 the same istightly itsfull widt t. edge of the creased; thereby throughout The longitudinally folded sheet 00, in passingfrom the rollen 18 and belt 27 2 is directed under the: fold.-

ing plate 42. Sa1dsheet m lsthen carried by thebelt 27 under the plate 42due plate 42 determines the Width of the1 inter? mediate portion broken linesy in Fig, 15 on which lines the sheetxw is finally crease the longitudinally folded will hereinafter be referred: to as the flaps of said sheet;-

the sheet or is moved b s the belt 27 longitudinally under the fol ingplate 42 ends offthe plate 46 and engage the cam edges 52 thereof; which lift said flaps and start the folding movement longitudinal edges of the folding plate 42. Asthe sheet w is moved forward by thebelt 27 its flaps are further lifted and folded by the cam edges 53 and direct? said; flaps into" contact with the; folding flanges 51. During the, action1 of the folding flanges 51 on the flaps of the sheet 00 said flaps engage the curvedfolding edges 56 and 57, and, due to the greater angle of the folding edge 56 over that of the folding flange 57, the folded under the,

r gh fiap. of said h t s left flap. These folding edges 56 and 57 fold the flaps substantially flat onto the folding plate42 so that-they are free topass under the plates 54 and 55 and are held While the folded sheet a; the belt 27due to the fric-. tional contact therewith, it is carried under the plates. 54. and 55;and withdrawn by said belt from the folding plate 42; and directed under the creasing roll 41 which tightly creases the folded sheet so that it will stay folded.

Referring now to @the importance of the (see Fig. 8) I have found that when the flaps of; a sheet are folded on parallel lines-onto the intermediate portion-of the sheet and thereafter subjected to thetaction of a creasing roll, that during the creasing of the sheet the flaps thereof are forced backward; into slight angular'relation and hence give the folded sheet a careless and untidy ap-. pearance. Thisdifliculty i i-creasing a foldtothe fnic-L tional engagement therebetween, and. which; plate. is yieldingly pressed by. the sprin 44. The width of the fol ing a of the sheet w indicatedby pass over the oblique thereof at the plate 42 The portions of 7 Sheet: woutwardh ly described.

It may be iere stated that the sheets are only lightly folded over the flaring folding plate 42, so that their flaps will yield and permit movement of the sheet thereover until the projecting front edges of said flaps engage the corresponding roll l1 and be moved backward thereby to position said flaps in parallel arrangement and thus per- Init the sheet to be freely stripped from said plate under the pulling action of the belt 27 and corresponding roll 41.

For short sheets that do not have to be folded longitudinally the machine is adjusted by removing the bars (33 and the parts carried thereby and mounting a deflecting plate 74 in vertical slots 75 in the sides of the frame 16, as shown in Fig. 6. This defleeting plate 7% is arranged to direct'a sheet at from the rollers 18 and 35 between the rollers 18 and 19 andthe belt 27. From the rollers 18 and 19 a short sheet is folded transversely in the same manner as that previous- From the feed belt 27 and creasing roller 41 the folded sheets are delivered to a trough-like receptacle 76 that extends longitudinally forward of the machine with its front end resting on the same support as that of the machine. The inner end of the receptacle 7 6 is held raised so that the bottom thereof is inclined, as shown in Fig. 2 by a pair of arms 77 having hook-like ends that are detachably interlocked with apertured lugs 78 on the lower ends of the hanger bars 20. A packer plate 79 is intermediately pivoted to the transverse portion of a bail 80 for swinging movement in a verticalplane. The arms of said bail 80 are detacliably pivoted to screw studs 81 on the outer face ofthe hanger bars 20. v

The rollers 18, 19, 22, 35 and ll and the belt 27 are either of rubber or rubber faced, and during the operation of the machine they are continuously driven without the use of gears or metallic contacting parts, thus rendering the machine noiseless. The attachment 62 and associated parts,'and the attachment 74 are selective at will to deflect a sheet fed into the machine and cause the same to be folded when delivered to the belt or to be delivered to the belt without being folded.

The above described paper folding machine is without time arranged movement and operates continuously, thus eliminating the necessity of careful feeding of sheets, and speeds up the work. The continuously operating machine will function at any part of its movement when a sheet is fed thereto either by hand or automatically from amimeograph or other machine.

What I claim is:

1. in a paperfol ding machine, the combinationwith a pair of co-operating combined feeding and folding rollers, of a pressure roller (to-operating with one of said rollers,

sure roller and co-operating combined feeding and folding roller, to impart the initial folding movement to the sheet and direct its intermediate portion between the combined feeding and folding rollers.

In a paper ilolding machine, the combination with an endless conveyer belt, of

a folding plate overlying said belt, the longitudinal edges of said plate being in diverging relation in respect to the direction of travel of the operative section of said belt, sheet folding means co-operating with the folding plate, and means for creasing a sheet folded by said plate and folding means.

3. In a paper folding machine, the combination with an endless conveyor belt, of a folding plate overlyin said belt, means operative to feed a sheet edgewise between said belt and plate, the longitudinal edges of said plate being in diverging relation in respect to the direction of travel of the operative section of said belt, sheet folding means cooperating with the folding plate, and means for creasing a sheet folded by said plate and folding means. i

l. In a paper folding machine, the combination with an endless conveyor belt, of

a folding plate having an oblique folding edge in respect to the direction of travel of the operative section of said belt, sheet folding means co-operating with the folding plate, and means for creasing a sheet folded by said folding plate and folding means.

5. The structure defined in claim 4c in which the folding plate is yieldingly pressed onto said belt.

6. The structure defined in claim 4 in fur-- ther combination with a roller over which said belt runs at its delivery end, and a sheet creasing roller cooperating with said belt as it passes over said roller.

7 In a paper folding machine, the combination with an endless conveyer belt, of a deck over which-said belt runs, a folding plate yieldingly pressing said belt on the lllll deck, sheet folding means cooperating with said plate, and transverse antlfriction rollers working in slots in said deck and engaging the back of said belt.

8. In a paper folding machine, the combination with a deck, of an endless conveyer belt arranged to run over said deck, a foldingplate overlying said belt and deck, a pair oi rails mounted on thedeck with said plate extending therebetween, and foldin flanges mounted on said rails for co-operat1on with said plate. 7

9. The structure defined in claim 8 in which said flanges have inclined sections for directing the flaps of a sheet onto said flanges. I

10. The structure defined in claim 8 in which said flanges have inclined sections for directing the flaps of a sheet onto said flanges and cam-acting inner edges.

11. The structure defined in claim 8 in which said rails and deck have rabbeted interlocking engagement, and in further combination-with a thumb screw for securing each rail to the deck.

12. In a paper folding machine, the com bination with a frame, of sheet folding means, an endless conveyer belt, and a receptacle at the deliver end of themachine for receiving the fol ed sheets from said belt, said receptacle having arms detachably supporting the inner end of the receptacle from said frame with the bottom of said receptacle inclined.

13. The structure defined in claim 12 in further combination with a floating packer co-operating with said receptacle.

14. In a paper folding machine, the combination with a pair of combined feeding and folding rollers, of an idle pressure roller co-operating with one of the rollers of said pair, a driven roller, an endlessicombined feeding and conveyin' belt arranged to run over said driven roller and one of the rollers of said pair and under the other roller of said air to drive the same, a folding plate over ying the belt, and sheet-folding means co-operating with said folding plate...

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN H. ADAMS. 

